Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
McDonough is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades C− overall, 159th of 258 graded towns in Georgia, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is incomes: the median household earns $75K. Expect to pay for it: the typical home is worth about $334K, 3.7 years of the Atlanta metro’s $90K median household income. McDonough’s median rent is $1,792 a month, against $1,152 a month in Georgia’s towns and $1,185 a month across U.S. towns. McDonough has 6 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Henry County Courthouse and Globe Hotel.
Where McDonough beats most towns.
Census counts: 320 in 1870, 29,051 in 2020. The archive holds 11 old photos and papers going back to 1827 and 2 maps from 1964 on.
6 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Georgia), ordered by how far McDonough is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in McDonough, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in McDonough.
McDonough trades workers with Atlanta and other neighbors, has home values still below their peak and has a longer frost-free season than most of the country, though not than most of Georgia.
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 81% of U.S. communities. Since 2003, 3 flood insurance claims have been paid out in McDonough.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Its public schools are run by the Henry County school district. Two of its 10 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is McDonough High School, with 1,359 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| McDonough Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 876 | B− |
| McDonough High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,359 | C− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within GA on state tests and graduation
4.2 miles of trail in 10 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Heritage Park, at 75 acres.
| McDonough | Georgia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 3.9% | 2.2% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.3 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Richard Craig Park | 0.9 mi | 35 |
| 2. Heritage Park | 0.7 mi | 75 |
| 3. Jonesboro Road Park | 0.7 mi | 23 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
McDonough beats the Georgia average on 3 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 8. 48% of McDonough adults have obesity.
| McDonough | Georgia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 48% | 38% | 35% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 44% | 40% | 36% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 14% | 16% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 20% | 23% |
| What stands out | McDonough | GA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 5.1% | 7% |
| Fewer adults with heart disease | 5.1% | 6.1% |
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 14.3% | 9.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The Jonesboro weather station, 13 miles away, records that the frost-free season runs about 235 days: longer than most of the country, but shorter than 84% of Georgia places with climate records.
McDonough has mild winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. McDonough’s July high is 90°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
McDonough has about as many jobs (14,160) as working residents, but only 876 people both live and work here.
Most working residents leave McDonough for work: only 7% work in town. The average trip to work in McDonough is 33 minutes. Since 2013, McDonough has added 2,960 jobs, to 14,160 in 2023.
| McDonough | Georgia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 33 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 11% | 15% | 9.6% |
| Work from home | 12% | 9.2% | 11% |
| Median household income | $75,000 | $63,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
People 65 and older are 9% of residents (15% statewide). McDonough has grown 14% since 2020, to 33,395 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 26% of residents are under 18 in McDonough.
| McDonough | Georgia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged 65 or older | 8.8% | 15% | 18% |
| Median age | 33.2 years | 36.6 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 26% | 24% | 22% |
52% women, 48% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±2.4 points. Across Georgia, 51.2% of residents are women.
| McDonough | GA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 10.2% | 12.1% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 16.2% | 11.1% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 12.9% | 9.5% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 12.4% | 13.8% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 14.4% | 13.4% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 14.7% | 12.8% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 10.4% | 12.3% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 4.5% | 9.1% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 4.3% | 5.8% | 7% |
| No diploma | 6.2% | 10.8% | 10.4% |
| High school | 26.4% | 26.6% | 26% |
| Some college | 24.2% | 19.2% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 14.7% | 8.4% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 19.5% | 21.1% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 9% | 13.9% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
McDonough's reported crime rate is above Georgia's. Most reported incidents are property crimes, mainly thefts. 111 violent crimes were reported in 2024.
| McDonough | Georgia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2024) | 26.3 per 1,000 residents | 18.3 | 11.5 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2024) | 3.3 per 1,000 residents | 2.3 | 1.7 |
FBI crime data, 2024 · crimes reported to police
The typical value, about $334K, is 7% below its May 2024 peak. 67.5% of renter households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, against 52.4% across Georgia.
The typical McDonough home is worth about $334,000, down 2.5% in a year, close to the Georgia typical home.
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
1 within 15 miles of the center of McDonough
About 6 of every 100 McDonough residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Georgia.
22,084 counted in 2010 and 29,051 in 2020; an estimated 33,395 in 2025.
Growth hasn’t slowed: 14.5% since 2020, after 31.5% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
6 places in McDonough on the National Register of Historic Places.
17 notable people were born in McDonough.
City in Georgia, United States
McDonough is a city in Henry County, Georgia, United States. It is part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. Its population was 29,051 in 2020. The city is the county seat of Henry County. The unincorporated communities of Blacksville, Flippen, Kelleytown, and Ola are located near McDonough, and addresses in those communities have McDonough ZIP codes.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
McDonough grades C− overall, better than 19% of U.S. towns and #159 of 258 in Georgia. It grades C for health and C+ for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a C−.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.
17 notable people were born here, including Austin Theory and Dalvin Tomlinson.
